Running an ultramarathon is one of the most extreme athletic endeavours an individual can undertake, requiring grit, perseverance, and fortitude.
Marcella Sangregorio is planning on running a 100-kilometre ultramarathon from Calgary to Ghost Lake and back, but for a purpose: her mother.
Sangregorio’s mother, Lisa Sangregorio, died in March of 2024, after battling brain cancer for more than 20 years. In her honour, Marcella is planning the run to take place on the anniversary of her mother’s death in 2026, running the entire distance carrying her mother’s funeral urn.
“My mom was just the strongest woman ever. It was incredible. She defied all odds with battling her brain cancer. When she passed away in March 2024, I was her caretaker for about three years. Freshly out of high school, after she had passed, I decided that it was time for me to start taking care of myself,” said Sangregorio.
“I lost about 40 pounds and began running. I did the Sport Chek 10-kilometer run for her, and then I did the Heart of the Rockies run wearing her shirts, like wearing a shirt with her picture on it. Then, I just had this idea that I could totally run 100 kilometres carrying her.”
She said the run was significant because of the promise to her mother that they would travel to Ghost Lake together, but because of complications from the cancer treatments, it became impossible.
“I would tell my mom that I would take her to Ghost Lake for the day, just to get out and kind of have like a girl’s day with her. But it just became too dangerous to even take her in the car, like one wrong turn and she could hit her head. So, I wasn’t able to take her. She passed away, and now I want to take her there,” Marcella said.
No need to be silent about grief
A big message that Sangregorio said she wanted to share from the run was that people struggling with grief don’t need to be silent.
“I’ve struggled a lot with that. It’s hard to talk about grief with people. Even in the language we use, we say ‘oh, she passed away.’ It’s OK to say that she died. I want people to know the pain that I’m in from losing my mom. Life hasn’t moved on for me, and I don’t ever want it to,” she said.
Rain or shine, Sangregorio said that March 28, 2026, she would be making the run to Ghost Lake—unless spring conditions make it unsafe to carry her mother’s urn.
“Of course, if there is ice, I would consider postponing. But postponing would only be for about a week max, just to see how the weather changes. Because if I’m carrying the urn, I do not want to drop that.”
That run is set to be more than just a one-off event, with a documentary film entitled Still Alive being planned as part of the memorial.
Sangregorio said the title of the film was because of how her mother was cremated in a Pearl Jam T-shirt, and the song she selected for her funeral was Still Alive from the band.
She said the eventual goal would be to release the film on YouTube, but also to try and get it into local film festivals like the Calgary International Film Festival.
Currently, the film is being sponsored by Gord’s Running Store and iRun Magazine.
As part of the efforts, Sangregorio is also hoping to raise public funds for Janice Care Services and the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada.
“I do want to put word out there that Janice Care Services is just the most incredible company. They were the home care to my mom in the last three months of her life. Eleanor and Paris from that company are just incredible. They still have dinners with my family now, even though my mom is no longer here. Just an incredible home care team,” she said.
For more details on the run, the documentary, and the GoFundMe, see www.gofundme.com/f/100km-ultra-carrying-my-mothers-urn.
